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Monday, February 13, 2012

Life After The Library

Today was the first day I haven't had to do anything.

After a month of the house being somewhat topsy turvy (what a lovely way to say things were a royal mess!), I was able to get back to a somewhat normal routine.

Up with Donald, coffee, visits with Harley and then a trip to the gym.

And lunch with Donald to celebrate his birthday.

Then once I got home I didn't have a stack of books to move, a sit-about to wash, or a picture to hang.

wow.

So.

What to do, what to do?!

What I did was take a long hot soakie bubble bath, put on comfy sweats and a soft t-shirt and fell into bed and took a nap.

A long one.

Lovely.

Now that the adrenaline rushes I've been living on for the past few weeks have gotten me through Project Little Library I can truly say I am just flat exhausted. But a good kind of exhaustion. A project complete. One that I love. And I'm proud of what we've accomplished. A side benefit I didn't expect is that the house also received a really good, really deep spring cleaning. What better time to scrub baseboards and windows, polish furniture, etc. than when everything is all torn up? The house has never looked more sparkly.

After hanging the last picture on the wall last night, I did something unusual for me.

I turned on The Grammy Awards Show.

I am a huge music fan.

Music is one of the joys of my life, and it's one of the things Donald and I share. We have attended some pretty awesome concerts during our years together, and some of those people we've seen were on the show last night.

However, I stopped watching the Grammys a few years ago when the main focus seemed to be on music I'm not a big fan of.

And to be truthful, most of the show did not hold my interest last night either.

It almost lost me when Chris Brown was doing his thing. Remember him - he's the guy who was all over the news a few years ago, not for his music, but because he beat up his girlfriend. He may have a sweet baby face, but as I've always heard; "you can't judge a book by its cover." I know, I know - forgiveness and all that. uh huh.

And I found all the references to Whitney Houston's death to be painful. Especially the performance by Jennifer Hudson, which was beautiful. But painful to witness.

Whitney Houston was a phenomenal talent with the voice of an angel.

Her personal life, however, was apparently full of demons she was unable to whip. I've read today about how heart-broken her former husband is. I'm sorry y'all, but I fear this man may have some serious guilt he needs to be facing up to. Yes, yes - I know, I know - forgiveness and all that. uh huh. Tell that to their daughter who lost her mother way too soon.

And then I was gone for good when there appeared to be a torture scene of some sort taking place with a singer I'd never heard of.

'Course now, I will totally admit to being a Pop Culture Challenged person, so she may be a fine performer. Just one I don't "get."

I was tickled pink to learn The Allman Bros. had won an award - The Lifetime Achievement Award. I'll say! These guys have been making music now for 43 years. Forty-three years. It would have been nice, I think, to have actually seen this during the show. But - what do I know. The woman being tortured, or whatever, on that wall was probably an important part of the show, after all.

I'm wondering if that woman singer being tortured on that wall will still be around making music 43 years from now. You think? Did I mention that I just did not get that whole thing?

One performer I do get, however, is Adele. I think the woman just flat rocks. I love her sense of style, which is very much her own - and I love her music. And I admire her whole attitude about herself and "the business." The interviews I've seen with her have been quite something.

I was happy I had turned the show on for her alone. And yes, yes, yes, I'm one of 30 beezillion who ordered her new CD, "21" today.

Did any of you watch the show? What did you think? High Points? Low Points?

I haven't watched the Grammys in YEARS but I wanted to see what they did for Whitney. Jennifer did a great job! But I only watched a little more. Back in the 70's and 80's I always watched it but I do not like most of the music(?) they put on today.So sad about Whitney--drugs really damage.Sandi Lewis

I haven't watched the Grammys in years either, even though I love music. Just not the kind that seems to be featured there every year now. I did watch a little because they had some performers I like and I wanted to see them, but I just got disgusted and turned it off after the first half hour or so. Glad you took some time off for yourself though. That nap sounded fine to me. ;-)

IT'S ALL RELATIVE

WOMEN'S SPACES WOMEN'S PLACES

CLOTHES LINES from 75 Western North Carolina Women Writers

CLOTHES LINES from 75 Western North Carolina Women Writers

I'm a lover of words and a lover of images.

The photos you see in the blog posts were mostly shot by me or by husband Donald. Or, they're old family photos - a lovely little benefit of being a part of families who recognized the beauty of preserving our history through photography.

If the photos are not ours, I have tried whenever possible to caption or link the photos to their source. This hasn't always been possible as there are a lot of uncredited images available through the internet.

My sincere thanks to the generosity of so many talented photographers who so graciously share their work for so many of us to enjoy, share and learn from.

IF you see a photo here that is a copyright infringement, please send me an email (barleykw @ appstate dot com) and I'll remove it immediately.

Books Read

Every year I promise myself I'm going to keep a log of books I'm reading. And I immediately forget. Then I remember again, but only after I've already read a few books, but can't be sure I'll remember them all and so - - can't bring myself to start the list. It's sort of like missing the first 30 minutes of a movie. I just can't watch it if I've missed the beginning. And being the anal ol' soul I am, I can't bring myself to start a list if I can't be sure it's going to be a complete one.So.I decided to keep a list during 2010 and found it to be a fun thing. Especially for a compulsive list-maker like myself.

FTC Disclosure Notice

FTC has a regulation which went into effect in December, 2009 which says, basically - "Amateur Bloggers to Disclose Freebies or Be Fined." Significantly fined. So. Since I happen to be an amateur blogger who sometimes receives free books, here's my required FTC Disclosure Notice: Dear FTC - Regarding review copies of books obtained for this blog. No other compensation is accepted beyond review copies of books - ever. When I do write a review, or opinion, the source of the book cited will be disclosed in the post in which the review/opinon appears. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.